Tack
Tack is the main protagonist of the Richard Williams film The Thief And The Cobbler. He is the latter of the title characters, the other one being a clever thief. His love interest is Princess Yum Yum. He is voiced by Steve Lively in The Princess And The Cobbler and Matthew Broderick in Arabian Knight. His voice is deeply-spoken by actor Sean Connery in the ending scene in the recobbled cut and workprint. versions of the film, telling Princess Yum Yum "I love you". Personality Tack the cobbler is a quietly spoken, brave, loyal, truthful, caring and sweet young man with a big heart, who lives in the palace of the Golden City as the prince. He describes himself as an orphan who lived nearby the palace as a cobbler. Tack is first seen as a pale, non-verbal and quiet young man, until he sets on Princess Yum-Yum. The more he gets to know the princess, the less shy he becomes, introducing himself as "Tack" to Yum-Yum. He tries to defend himself after his second encounter with Zigzag after he fixes Princess Yum Yum's shoe, but despite the effort, Zigzag throws him in prison. As he sits in prison, he sings about his feelings for the princess, unaware that Yum-Yum was singing about the same way she felt about him. As Tack progresses through their journey, he becomes more social and learns his strength that's needed to defeat One-Eye and the sorcerer. Appearance Tack's appearance is rather simple. He's skinny, tall, he wears black overalls with square patches sewn on his shirt and pants. He wears a peasant hat over his thin hair. For the first half of the film his skin is pale from not being in the sun for so long, but in the second half, his skin darkens. Tack is always seen with two tacks in his mouth being held with his teeth. Role in the film Tack is a simple cobbler with no other weapons except his tacks and pins. At the beginning, Tack explains a bit of his backstory, explaining that he's an orphan living underneath the king's palace as a poor cobbler with a small shoe shop. After an accident with the thief, one of his tacks accidentally rolls out from his pocket, resulting in Zigzag stepping on it with his long shoe. Tack is arrested for the incident and brought before King Nod. When he arrives, his eyes lay on Princess Yum-Yum, who seems to stare back at him. Tack is given the princess's shoe to fix it, making Zigzag jealous. While Tack is fixing Yum-Yum's shoe, she and him begin to like each other. Although he was too shy to talk, he decides to impress her with cobbling tricks. When its time for Yum-Yum's bath, the maid orders Tack to keep an eye on his work. "Y-yes ma'am," he replies. Tack is later encountered with the Thief, who steals Yum-Yum's shoe, and runs off. Tack runs after him, later retrieving the shoe, but eventually runs into Zigzag at the end of the chase. Zigzag sends him to jail. While Tack is in jail, he thinks about the princess, little did he know she was doing the same thing for him. Later, Tack overhears trouble brewing with Zigzag. He manages to escape so he could warn the princess. Avoiding Zigzag and other guards, he reaches Yum-Yum and King Nod in the palace. Tack learns that she is sent on a quest to find the good witch who might know what to do about the One-Eye army. Yum-Yum wants Tack to be her guide. While they're on the journey, Tack and his friends encounter the King's brigands out in the dessert. After they get acquainted, they become her body guards. When they get to their destination, Tack seems to have found a lever, which he pulls, and finds a path to the witch. Tack and Yum-Yum learn that he is the one to defeat the evil king. This confuses Tack, but he decides to listen to her. After their talk with the witch, Tack and his friends head back to the palace, only to find the kingdom is surrounded by One-Eye's army. Tack steps forth to confront Zigzag, who can see him from afar. As Zigzag tries to strike, Tack dodges to the side, putting his back to a wall. As he's thinking, he remembers the witch's words for him. "A tack! A tack!" He shouts, pulling a tack from his mouth. He proceeds to make a sling with his feet and shoots it at One-Eye's machine. Turns out that's all it took. After Tack defeats Zigzag, he is warmly hugged by the princess, who congratulates him. Later, Tack and Yum-Yum celebrate the defeat of the army. As a reward, Tack marries the princess, making him the prince, and they live happily ever after. Trivia *In three different versions of the film, Tack is voiced by different voice actors each time. Sean Connery in the unfinished film (says one small line at the end), Steve Lively in The Princess And The Cobbler, and Matthew Broderick in Arabian Knight. *Matthew Broderick also voices Simba in the 1994 Disney film, The Lion King, along with the sequels.